


Prologue - You Know I'm a Hugger

by 4theHonourofGräysküll (AVAwolfpack), DakianDelomast



Series: Our Fires Within [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) is a Dork, Bright Moon (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Everyone Gets A Hug, F/F, F/M, Feel-good, Fluff, Gen, Leather Jackets, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), POV Scorpia (She-Ra), Poor Catra (She-Ra), Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Queen Glimmer (She-Ra), Scorpia (She-Ra) is a Good Friend, Therapy Cat Melog (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 23:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30063252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AVAwolfpack/pseuds/4theHonourofGr%C3%A4ysk%C3%BCll, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DakianDelomast/pseuds/DakianDelomast
Summary: After the war against Horde Prime for the fate of Etheria, there is a lot of cleaning up to do after She-Ra released the magic. Good thing Scorpia is on the job! She's here to breathe in a new day and help her friends through anything.That first task is taking Catra on her first tour of Bright Moon.“Well Bright Moon is pretty overwhelming at first, you know?” I gesture around the wide open halls. Everything is admittedly more muted than usual with the overgrowth, but it’s still much more vibrant than the Fright Zone. “It’s so noisy and everything smells so weird. At first, I was technically a prisoner, but the cell had all these pillows in it that were so soft and fluffy. I’m not sure they actually know what a cell is supposed to be like. They even gave me green stuff to eat. Remember? We always knew it was a bad time when the rations were green.”“Yeah, I remember.” Catra takes a deep sniff and wrinkles her nose. Not quite in displeasure but discomfort. “It does smell weird. Is that… What is that?”“Beats me! Let’s keep moving on this grand ole tour.”
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Series: Our Fires Within [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181396
Kudos: 34





	Prologue - You Know I'm a Hugger

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prologue to the Our Fires Within series, a post-canon continuation of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
> 
> We've got a lot of feelings to work through, a lot of conversations we think should have happened, and a lot of hugs to give. Most of all, we just love these characters so much, we don't want it to end.
> 
> Prepare for the tears. Prepare for the wholesome.
> 
> We'll be rolling out new chapters, interludes and teasers regularly. Stay tuned for more!

I snip through the thick vine with my pincers and watch the disconnected foliage slip away from the door. Another choice cut here and there and the doorway is finally opened again. I step back and survey my work, wiping the sweat from my brow with a forearm. 

“One door down!”

“And like a billion more to go,” Mermista groans, gesturing at the series of archways covered by intrusive foliage. She follows me a pace behind to the next. 

My pincers cut through the first section of vines indiscriminately, taking out a huge chunk. It’s nice to be able to cut something without worrying. When I help you in your gardens in Plumeria, I’m also so nervous of messing it up. Even though you assure me you can just regrow it, you never do. I’m always so clumsy, but you never seem to notice or mind.

“Oh, isn’t today great? The fresh air! All those new birds that have shown up again now that the magic is free! I couldn’t ask for better.” The vines fall away and I see the first hints of the halls of Bright Moon hidden behind.

“Sure,” Mermista says. “And we’re stuck cutting weeds.”

“You know, it’s funny, but Perfuma says there’s no such thing as weeds.” My pincers slice through the verdant green foliage with ease. The contact sends a pleasant tingle up my arm—the vigor and life released from the Heart within the vines. “It’s a term people made up to describe an unwanted plant. But all plants should be wanted. I gotta say, I agree with her. Growing up in the Fright Zone, we didn’t have weeds  _ or  _ plants. These things are great! I’m still on the fence about the eating them part but I’m getting there.”

Mermista leans against the nearby wall, her arms crossed. “Right. Well, can’t say I want a bunch of plants blocking everything. I don’t see why She-Ra had to zap  _ all  _ of Etheria with plants.”

“That was pretty cool wasn’t it?” More vines fall to the ground. I think of the burst of diaphanous light shooting from She-Ra’s sword. The overwhelming glow and warmth of the warrior. “She made a tree  _ in space! _ ” I laugh as I cut another vine. “Who does that?”

“I’m just saying she could have stopped there.” She flicked a leaf off her shoulder. “Salineas is still covered in seaweed and I’m  _ soooooo  _ not looking forward to clearing that out.”

“Say, why aren’t you in Salineas right now?”

“I’m waiting for Perfuma to be done with whatever she’s doing so she can just take care of it for me.” She waves a hand dismissively. “Why waste my time when she can just control all the plants out of the way or whatever.”

Another two cuts of my pincers and this archway is clear. “Well, shoot! I’ll come by any time.” I click my pincers together pointedly. “I’m really good at cutting stuff.”

Mermista smirks at me. “Sure. Why not, Scorps?” 

“I always liked the sea.”

We make our way to the next archway but stop short when a familiar neigh catches my attention. I shield my eyes against the brightness of the afternoon sun and look up. The winged unicorn blended in surprisingly well with the polychromatic sky, but I spot Swift Wind swooping down toward us.

“Hey, Swift Wind!” I wave at him excitedly, Mermista ducking away from my exuberance. “Good to see you buddy!”

He lands elegantly on the stones of the pavilion and tosses his head back, his magnificent mane flowing in the wind. “Greetings friends!” he says. “I bear good news! The apples in the orchards of Thaymor have been freed of their confinement from the excess foliage.” He tosses his head back in triumph. “Apples for all of Etheria!”

“Ooh, that  _ is  _ great news!” I say.

“Sure.” Mermista crosses her arms, her expression flat and unimpressed by Swift Wind’s opulence. “Thaymor’s where Glimmer, Bow and Adora were right? Does that mean they’re coming back?”

“And Catra!” Swift Wind says.

I should have expected it. I knew Catra was travelling with everyone now. After the Battle at the Heart, when she had apologized and I hugged her, it had seemed like everything would be okay. I wanted it to be okay. But hearing her name still catches me off guard. A knot forms in my chest and I have to breathe in deep and let it out slowly, like you taught me, for it to go away. The smile on my face barely slipped for that half second before it’s back.

“The Queen’s excursion to Thaymor was an astounding success,” Swift Wind continues, unaware of the brief intrusion. “They’re on their way back right now!” He pauses and looks around, noticing the vines covering all the doorways and he frowns. “A horse can’t fit through there.”

“Oh, jeez. You’re right!” I go to the nearest archway and cut a larger opening through the plants. “Does that work better for you buddy?”

“It does!” Swift Wind canters up to it happily. “You know, now that the magic has been released back into Etheria, I plan on establishing my own council of horsekind. It’s about time we made all doorways horse friendly and—”

However, Swift Wind’s plans for his council are cut short by a burst of light in the air as Glimmer materializes with Bow, Adora, and Catra in tow.

“Nope,” Catra groans and doubles over, holding her hands on her knees. “I’m not doing that again, Sparkles.”

Glimmer puts her hands on her hips. “Well,  _ I’m  _ not walking everywhere.”

“Great. I’ll see you around then.”

Adora crouches next to Catra, patting her gently on the back. “You also said no to riding Swift Wind.”

Catra lifts her head just enough to give her a glare. “If you think I’d rather be flying on a horse you accidentally  _ zapped with magic _ —”

“C’mon, guys,” Bow says, slinging an arm over Glimmer’s shoulders. “It’s only been a few days, Catra. Maybe just give it some time and you’ll get used to it.”

Catra shakes her head and drops it in resignation. She lets out the irritated groan I know so well. There’s still a delicate flutter in my chest, looking at her like this. That strange sense of comfort, wanting to swaddle her up and let her know it’s okay, even if it’s just a tummy ache. I raise my pincer to speak up. Maybe I can—

Mermista steps in front of me before I can say anything. “Glimmer, I  _ have _ to get out of here. Can we just, like, go get Perfuma and maybe take her Salineas?”

Glimmer’s eyes narrow at Mermista before she rolls them. “Oh,  _ suuure _ ! Anywhere  _ else _ you want to go?”

“Wow, who brought the sassy queen back?” Mermista holds up a hand in a fake placating gesture before planting it on her hip. “At least I don’t complain about your teleports.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Glimmer throws out an offering hand. “But you only get one a day. I have  _ a kingdom to run _ , you know!”

“Um… We  _ all  _ have kingdoms to run, but fine. I won’t keep you long.” Mermista turns to salute me sarcastically. “See ya, Scorps! Good seeing you guys again. Now that we’re not all trying to kill each other or trying not to get killed that is.”

I gingerly wave back. “Agreed, on both parts!”

“You ready?” Glimmer says impatiently before grabbing onto Mermista’s hand and they poof away in a cloud of sparkles. My pincer is still raised in my brief goodbye wave.

“Okay!” Adora claps her hands together and turns to Catra, who has just barely gotten to her feet in the meantime. There’s a tightness to her eyes lingering from the discomfort. “What do you wanna see first?”

Catra startles and her tail stiffens.

Adora starts counting the stops on her fingers, raising them as she tacks on another checkpoint on their tour. “There’s the waterfalls—that  _ aren’t  _ showers apparently—the dining room, the throne room, the portrait hall, the gardens. I guess we’re kinda already in the gardens.” She chuckles awkwardly and looks around at the overgrown foliage. She turns back to Catra, smiling broadly. “So? Where do you wanna start?”

“Oh… I…” Catra hesitates, her ears flattening. Her arm creeps across her body to grab the other by the elbow.

Adora really should be more sensitive when Catra is on edge like this. I step forward to intervene—

“Wow.” Bow takes his goggles from his belt and dons them with an electronic whirr taking over the quiet silence between the birds chirping. “We’ve got a lot left to go.”

“Yeah, sorry. That’s my bad,” I say, rubbing a pincer at the back of my neck. “I’ve been working on clearing the hallways, but you know—” I click my pincers together “—only so much two pincers can cut at a time.”

“I mean, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. Who knew all the power stored in the heart of the planet would make everything explode with plants, right?”Adora holds up her hands and shrugs, chuckling awkwardly again. When no one joins her, she deflates and grips her forearm subconsciously. 

“If it was going to explode with anything, I—for one—am  _ glad _ that it’s plants and not something else.” I gesture around to the surrounding flowers soaking up the sunlight. A trill of birdsong accompanies my observations. “Look at all those colors! And those weird bird things flying around. Man—so many gosh darn new delights have popped up since you did that.”

Adora smiles appreciatively at me and drops her hand from her forearm. “It would’ve been easier for everyone if all the buildings weren’t covered. But… it’s fine. They’re just plants. We can walk around it. Catra’s got her claws and I have my sword and—”

Swift Wind butts in with his head over Adora’s shoulder. “And my horn!”

“Yes, Swiftie, and your horn.” She pats him affectionately on the cheek, if not a little like a put-upon mother.

“Because kicking them was ineffective!”

She nods and pats him again. “Yes, it was.”

“Uhhh.” Bow adjusts a dial on the side of his goggles. Who knows what he’s scanning for. I never understood all that tech stuff like he and Entrapta did. “I think we’re going to need a  _ bit _ more than that.” 

“Because they’re magic plants?”

“Because they’re magic plants.” 

Adora’s shoulders slump and she sighs.

Bow gives her a knowing smile and bumps her lightly on the arm. “You know, I bet I have some herbicide arrows in my—Glimmer’s room. But I might need a hand getting them.”

“Great!” She perks up immediately and clenches a hand into a fist in excitement. “Let’s take Swift Wind around the palace and grab them.” She pinches her chin between her thumb and forefinger as a thought occurs to her. “Actually, taking Swiftie would be the fastest way to see Bright Moon.”

“Loop-de-loops?” Swift Wind skips in delight. “Loop-de-loops!”

“C’mon, Catra. Let’s go!” She grabs Catra by the hand and starts to drag her toward Swift Wind.

“No! Absolutely not!” Catra yanks her hand away and pounces a few feet back. Adora turns to her, brow furrowed in confusion as Catra hesitates and glances to the side. The tightness to her eyes from Glimmer’s teleport returns. “No… loop-de-loops.”

“Oh, okay.” Adora looks at Swift Wind. “We don’t have to do loop-de-loops. Right, Swiftie?”

Swift Wind frowns skeptically, a wing reaching around for a feather to stroke his chin. “Can you fly without doing at least one loop-de-loop? I thought it was natural law.”

My pincer snaps into the air. “I’ll take care of her!”

Bow, Adora, Swift Wind and Catra all turn to look at me at once, as though just remembering I was there. I tended to have that effect on people. I might be a big gal, but I could slip in and out of rooms unnoticed rather easily.

Adora frowns as she considers, an uncomfortable disappointment written in her eyes. I almost want to plead with her to let me do this.

“I can give her a tour and maybe show her around while we cut through some of this! She’s gotta know the grounds before she goes  _ flying around _ them, right? I mean, not to brag—” I insert myself between Adora and Catra and put one of my arms over Catra’s shoulders, while I touch the other pincer to my chest. “—but I happen to know these halls like the back of my claw right now. It’d be a breeze for me.”

“Oh… Okay, I guess that works.” Adora squeezes Catra’s shoulder. “We’ll be back soon enough. Take it easy.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s in good hands. Well _pincers._ ” I chuckle. “Everything’s fine! I have a lot of experience with a sick Catra.”

Catra gives a resigned thumbs up. “Great. Sounds good.”

“There was that one time we were on a boat—do you remember that?” I steer her away from Bow and Adora toward the most recently opened archway into the halls of Bright Moon. “Man, that seasickness really got to you then, huh? You had Kyle follow you around with a bucket.”

We pass through the vines into the hall. The normally polished and shining floors are littered with detritus and dirt. Various vines creep up the walls to the high, vaulted ceilings. Several shrubs are rooted within cracks in the doorways and floor, barring entry into those rooms, at least at the moment. Even with all the clutter of the extra foliage surrounding us, the halls of Bright Moon still felt open and airy. Free and welcoming.

Catra walks next to me a little slumped, ears flat, arm crossed protectively over her. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her look so timid. Her eyes are trained on where the floor meets the wall.

“So… Space?” I venture. “Pretty big, huh?”

The hand hanging at her side wanders out into the open air between her and the wall. “Yup.”

“Man, I can’t imagine.” I put my pincers on my hips and look up at the ceiling. “I mean, Swift Wind and I spent so many nights picking stars to look at thinking it’d be you guys up there. There were so many to pick from! Who would have thought there were that many stars? That’s the portrait hall, by the way. We can’t really go in there because of the vines but that’s where it is.”

Catra says nothing. Her hand slips to the back of her neck and I can’t help but mimic the gesture, remembering all too well the pinching pain of the chip there. The feeling of my own will leeching from my body. Trapped at the back of my head, stuck watching while everything happened around me. Listening to my loved ones plead with me… 

I drop my pincer and sigh. “That whole Prime chip stuff. Pretty scary. I thought for sure he was going to get the best of us.”

“Y—Yeah. He nearly did.” Catra realizes she’s touching her neck and forces herself to drop her hand. She looks away.

We walk in silence. I study her, trying to pin down the unease within me. When I’d volunteered to take Catra on this tour, I’d been prepared to weather her biting comments and sarcasm. But this was almost worse. The hesitancy. The withdrawn look in her eyes. Her recovery was usually immaculate. She always managed to bounce back so fast. Even away from Adora’s anticipation and excitement, she still wasn’t quite… Quite the Catra I had expected.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

Catra snarls and glares sideyed at me. “Don’t you start, too.”

“Start what?”

“Just…” She turns away. “Nevermind.”

“Ah, well Bright Moon is pretty overwhelming at first, you know?” I gesture around the wide open halls. Everything is admittedly more muted than usual with the overgrowth, but it’s still much more vibrant than the Fright Zone. “It’s so noisy and everything smells so weird. At first, I was technically a prisoner, but the cell had all these pillows in it that were so soft and fluffy. I’m not sure they actually know what a cell is supposed to be like. They even gave me green stuff to eat. Remember? We always knew it was a bad time when the rations were green.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Catra takes a deep sniff and wrinkles her nose. Not quite in displeasure but discomfort. “It does smell weird. Is that… What is that?”

“Beats me! Looks like the throne room is still covered, too. Can’t go in there either.” I laugh and keep moving forward. “Oh! Guess what! The other day in the forest, I saw a mouse! A real mouse.” I nudge her in the shoulder with my elbow. “Betcha can get one of those for Adora, huh?”

“That was  _ one  _ time.” Catra huffs and dodges my next attempt to nudge her. The old, growling frustration was back in her voice. “Why does  _ everyone _ keep bringing that up?”

“Sorry, sorry.” I hold up my claws placatingly. “I was just thinking of nice stuff you could get her.”

Catra collects herself, pausing to take a breath and let it out. I recognize the trick from you. You must have spent some time together. Not surprising you’d choose to help Catra—you were good at stuff like that.

“No, it’s fine.” Catra glances sideways at me. “I’m sorry. I’ve been working on that.” 

A glowing flash appears under her outstretched hand. A blue and purple translucent creature with glowing eyes. It lets out an echoing noise and presses its face into the palm of her hand.

I startle back and knock into a wall. “What the heck is that?”

Catra looks at me with wide-eyed surprise. “Sorry. I thought everyone…” She glances down at the creature who lets out another noise. “You don’t remember Melog from the Heart?”

“Oh, not really.” I peel myself away from the wall. “Just, everything happened so fast and I think I was chipped then? I don’t really remember… I didn’t know they could do  _ that. _ ”

Melog gives an echoing mew that causes Catra to look at them in surprise.

“What’re they saying?”

“Melog was with Bow in the terminal.” Her hand passes over the top of Melog’s head back into their mane. “They say you zapped them.”

The guilt surges through me. You told me all about what happened when I was chipped, all the things I don’t quite remember. You always assured me that you didn’t blame me—that I still managed to do good while under Prime’s control. But it doesn’t change that I hurt people. Nothing will change that fact.

“Oh shoot, I am  _ so  _ sorry,” I say, holding pincers up to my face. “I really didn’t want to! I was just—”

Melog mews again and I stop hastily, looking to Catra expectantly.

She smiles and waves me closer. “It’s fine, Scorpia. C’mere.”

I approach slowly, clacking my pincers together nervously. Catra holds out one hand to me, the other on Melog’s back. I give her my pincer and she brings it closer to Melog. When my rock-hard exoskeleton makes contact with their nose, I feel a jolt of electricity up my arm. A brief glow encompasses us both. The sensation reminds me of when I first connected with the Black Garnet. That surge of power and warmth within me. Banishing away the doubts and insecurities that always lingered within me.

“Oh! Aren’t you a cutie!” Before Catra or Melog can say otherwise, I scoop Melog up into my arms for a good, ole patented Scorpia hug. Melog yowls in protest for the briefest of seconds before allowing themselves to sink into the hug. An echoing purr vibrates against my exoskeleton. They sink into the cradle and excitedly paw at the air. Mission complete, I set Melog back down on the ground and smile. 

Melog wraps around Catra’s legs, tilts their head at me and mews quietly.

“Melog’s says don’t worry about the zap.” Catra gives me a twitchy smile, setting a hand on their head and stroking them quietly.

I turn my grin to her. “I’m sorry for zapping you, too. Perfuma told me—”

“Don’t worry about it. I probably deserved it.” Catra scratches the back of her head. “So, uh, portrait hall and throne room are out. What’s actually open here?”

I hold a pincer up to my chin while I think. “Well, you know, we really only just started clearing everything out so… the dining hall, I think. Are you hungry? They make great food here! Not everything is rectangular, too.”

“Yeah, not really hungry. There were all these apples in Thaymor.”

“Swift Wind was telling me about that!” I chuckled and continued down the hall. “Who knew horses like apples so much? And what’s even the deal with apples anyway? Like the outside tastes different than the inside. It’s so weird”

Catra glances at me sideways. “Hah, they didn’t believe me when I said that, but they’re better than dehydrated protein slaw.”

We stop in a hallway covered in vines that reach around surrounding the domed ceiling and up through the windows high above. I pinch at some of the vines, revealing the mural of Micah embedded on the wall. His mage’s staff in hand, a moon of Etheria framing his cloaked figure. A pang of a memory washes through me. Being dragged in front of him, and knocked to my knees to get chipped.  _ Join us in Prime’s light _ .

My eyes still study the mural as I say, “That was pretty scary, huh? The whole battle thing.”

Catra scratches Melog’s head. “I wouldn’t know. I was down with Adora in the Heart.”

“You missed the whole thing?”

“I mean, by the time I got back up, She-Ra had unleashed the magic and the battle was over. I didn’t see it.”

“Oh, well that’s probably good.” I lean towards her and bump her with my elbow. “I mighta zapped you again if I saw you, huh?”

Catra sways with the bump, a faint grin on her face. “Who would’ve guessed you finally had princess powers.”

Melog pivots in front of her and rubs their shoulder affectionately against her leg.

“I know! Pretty crazy right? I’m still getting used to them.” I hold up my pincers and two short zaps of red light bursts from their points. “Anywho, did you see the war room? It’s pretty cool! They have this hologram and it has this map. We were using it to track the—I mean, they had all this cool stuff on it!” I lead onward further down the hallway. “I guess we’re going to need to call it something else soon. Not much more war to fight! Everyone seems to be getting along so well.” I snip open the doorway. This room seems to be devoid of overgrowth. The lack of windows might’ve helped. “Hey, this is cool! Check it out!”

I turn back and Catra stands uncomfortably in the doorway, arm across her chest. Melog gives her another rub, and pushes her with their head into the room.

“You know, it’s a funny story. I snuck in here when I first got to Bright Moon. They were so surprised when they noticed I was in here! You should’ve  _ seen _ their faces.” I chuckle at the recollection. “Who would’ve guessed I was so sneaky?”

Catra spares a glance up to me but looks down again. She steps closer to the central table, touches it. Her fingers remove a thin layer of dust, the polished wood beneath glistening in the daylight. “It’s so weird being in here.”

“I know, right? Where’re the endless fire pits? Where’re the spike traps and torture chambers? Man, the Horde stories were almost disappointing when I got here. I was  _ so _ scared that it was going to be just terrible inside. I mean, I remember the Battle of Bright Moon when I was fighting Glimmer. You know I never really apologized for trying to punch her? Oh, I guess there was also that time I was going to drop her off that bridge... I should go talk to her.” I pause and clack a pincer to my chin, wondering if I will have a chance to talk to Glimmer. She’s so busy having her kingdom to run and all. “Anyway, it was so ugly on the outside, but I figured inside it’d be a little more scary. But nope!” 

Catra drags a claw across the table and leaves a smooth cut in the edge. She opens her eyes wide, as though she wasn’t aware of what she was doing until just now. She jerks her hand back.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. They have some really good craftspeople here. They can fix anything! I broke so many things with my pincers when I first got here. They know me really well by now.” I tap the back of Glimmer’s chair, stationed at the head of the table. “They said that I’m getting a seat next! Being a princess and all. I just hope there’s a place to put my tail.” I pull it around and grasp it between both my pinchers. “Silly thing always getting in the way.”

Catra looks down at the scar she left on the table, then back up at me. I see the faintest smirk on her face and I feel a little surge of joy. I might just be able to get her to feel a little better. “C’mon! I gotta show you the barracks! Err… ‘rooms’ I guess they call them here.” I hurry off into the hallway with Catra in tow. 

We traverse Bright Moon in silence. She usually likes to have a little time to reflect anyway. Catra glances over her shoulder as though to check if we were being followed. Our tour abruptly stops as Melog steps ahead of us, specifically blocking Catra. They start mewing rapidly, the noise echoing in the open halls.

“Wh—What’re they saying?” I rub my pincers together anxiously.

“They’re not—” Catra swipes a hand in front of her. “No, stop it. It’s fine.”

Melog continues to mew and stands, butting their head against her. 

“Hey, quit it!” Catra’s tail stiffens and the hairs bristle. She’s about to pop.

I contemplate leaving the two of them. Clearly, they need to sort this out on their own. I swing my tail behind me and inch towards a nearby doorway to slip through. Then I spot that it’s covered in vines and wonder if I can cut through inconspicuously.

Melog stops mewing at Catra and turns to me. They prowl towards me. Catra watches them, eyes narrowing into a scowl.

“Hey, I don’t want to get in the way here. I just wanted to—” I hold my pincers up between me and Catra. The power of the Black Garnet was so easily accessed within me now. What happens when the two of them get mad?

Melog wraps around my legs and blocks me from backpedaling away further from Catra. They mew again.

“It’s okay, Scorpia.” Her voice is more reserved again. She sighs deeply and the scowl eases from her expression. She just looks tired now.

Melog continues to mew at her.

I glance between the two of them. “Are they mad?” Is she mad?

“No, they’re saying—” Catra scratches behind her neck. “They’re saying that I should be honest with you.”

“Abo—About what?” I feel another flutter through my chest. My stomach turns.

“That…” Catra glares at Melog briefly. They sit expectant of her answer, still wrapped around my leg, tail swishing on the floor. She looks back toward me. “Why is this so  _ hard _ ?” She presses her palms against her eyes.

I reach down a pincher and Melog bumps their head into it affectionately.

“I wanted to have a break from Adora, all right?” Catra’s hands drop from her eyes, revealing the embarrassed blush hidden beneath. She crosses her arm over her body and looks off to the side. “She gets chatty when she’s nervous and I just can’t take it all day long. I just was acting sick to get a break.”

“Oh… so you didn’t want to hang out with me.” I feel the wind pulled from my sails and I am dead in the water. I look down, away from her. Had she even changed? Melog bumps my pincer hard, startling me.

“No! Not that.” Catra growls in frustration, rubbing a hand over her brow. “That isn’t what I—dammit!”

Melog mews again and rubs their shoulder against my thigh. They flick their tail and it bats against mine.

“This whole ‘telling the truth’ stuff sucks. Just so you know.”

I spare a glance back up at her and she’s glaring at Melog again. They mew in response.

Catra heaves out an aggravated breath before collecting herself. “Scorpia, okay—here’s the deal. Adora… she’s been talking to me non-stop about showing me Bright Moon all day. And I get why she’s excited but… You know how Adora is. She gets an idea in her head and nothing you say can get through. It’s been a bit too much for me and I don’t want to tell her because she’s going to get mopey if I do. So I just wanted to get away without hurting her feelings.”

A small surge rises inside of me. Maybe she has changed. “Well, Perfuma and I have talked about this kinda thing and it’s always better to tell someone. Just… don’t be… Catra about it, when you do.” I smile awkwardly at her.

She smirks, one of her fangs peeking through. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to do that. I also…” She takes another deep breath, her gaze dropping off to the side. “I wanted to hang out with you.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while and…” Her eyes flick up briefly to me, as though to check if I were still standing there. “We’re friends. At least… we were and I’d… I’d like that again.”

I dash across the room and snatch her up in a hug. “Yes! Absolutely! There’s so much to tell you about and I really want to talk about Perfuma and all the stuff we’ve been doing since you’ve been gone and—!”

Catra pushes back at my shoulders, gasping for breath. “Could you…?”

“Sorry!” I unceremoniously drop her and she lands gracefully on her feet.

“It’s all right.” She brushes her disheveled hair from her face, recollecting herself. Melog pads over to her and nuzzles against her.

“I like the new hair, by the way! I gotta say, I was a little shocked when I first saw it and without the mask too, but I really think it works.”

She smiles a little ruefully. “Thanks, Scorpia. Adora thinks she should cut her hair, too.”

My brow furrows in consternation. “Adora without a hair poof? That just seems wrong.”

Catra chuckles quietly, a wistfulness to her expression. “She’d look like an idiot.”

A thought strikes me suddenly and hard and I gasp so loudly Catra yelps and jumps in surprise, fur bristling. “Wait! I need to take you to your room!”

“Uh… my room?” She looks at me in confusion. “I didn’t know I had a room already.”

“Well, I mean…” I scratch at the back of my neck and chuckle awkwardly. “It’s Adora’s, but like… both of yours now. Unless… you don’t... Do you? ‘Cause I heard—” 

The blush in Catra’s cheeks is turning a deeper red by the second.

“Just, c’mon. I’ll take you there!” I snatch her hand in my pincer and drag her down the hallway. She doesn’t protest. I come to the hallway of rooms and pause. “Right… which one was it… I think… This one!”

I snip open the vines that obscure Adora’s room and crack open the door. Save for the blast holes, it’s just like she left it. An open space with a canopy descending from the center over the small, hard cot within. The normal waterfall is currently not flowing, probably blocked by plants somewhere. Several of the crystals lay shattered on the floor. The vases that normally contained the plants adorning the walls are overcome with foliage that snake up the walls and out onto the balcony. 

With a shove I push the door the rest of the way open with a protest of cracking vines. I gesture her inward and she follows, cowed but with a faint excitement buried in her expression. I pull back and shut the door, turning to Catra.

_ Oh, I can’t wait. _

“Stay right there and…” I look to the side, unable to hide my excited grin. “Close your eyes.”

Catra scowls in trepidation. “Uh, why?”

“Because it’s not a surprise if you’re looking!” 

“It’s just a room, Scorpia. I don’t see what—”

“Close ‘em!” I point a pincer at her warningly.

“Fine.” She closes her eyes and stands with her arms crossed, biasing her weight onto her right leg.

“You too Melog! No cheating.”

Melog tilts their head at me, but closes their glowing blue eyes and lowers their nose to cover them with their paw.

I scamper over to the stash behind the bed tent. Catra taps her foot impatiently as I hurry back to her.

“Hold out your hands. No peeking.”

“Scorpia…”

“Do it!”

She reluctantly holds out both hands with a resigned sigh, her eyes still squeezed shut. Melog mews, tilting their head in curiosity, but doesn’t look.

I delicately drape it over her arms. “Okay, open ‘em.”

She slowly peeks her blue eye open. Then follows with the yellow one. She repositions her hands and holds the shoulders of her old jacket looking at it like a ghost had emerged from the long and distant past. Her mouth opens slightly.

“I was just… After you disappeared, we were roaming around the Fright Zone on a patrol before Prime started chipping everyone and I found this and stashed it with my stuff in the camp.” I scratch the back of my head with my pincer. “Just in case you—you know—came back.”

Her voice is hoarse and barely audible. “Scorpia…”

“Turn it around.” I click my pincers together in excitement, watching her closely.

She glances up at me uncertainly before folding it in her hands and turning it over. The material spreads back out, revealing the pattern on the back. The golden snake eating its own tail, but now added over the shoulders—

“Wildcat,” she says absently.

“What do you think?”

She is unmoved, a statue. I remember this. Is she going to yell? All the excitement within me drains away, replaced by instant regret and doubt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin it. I stitched the first letter on myself but I kinda…” I look down at my indelicate and clumsy pincers. “I kinda messed it up. But I got someone to help me with the others!”

Tears start to bud in the corners of her eyes and I see her body shudder.

“It’s bad, I know. Maybe we can have one of the—”

Catra collapses forward and wraps her arms tightly around me. I feel the pinch of her claws digging into my back, her arms too short to reach all the way around. I’m stunned into stillness. I hadn’t… We’d never… There were so many times I’d hugged Catra but I’ve never felt her arms around me. Not like this. Slowly, afraid of breaking this moment like I’d broken so many other things, I envelope her with my arms and hold tight. Melog encircles our legs bringing us all together. She sobs in a way that I’ve never heard before. Like all the anguish she carried for the years under Shadow Weaver and Hordak finally let go. She struggles for breaths between her cries. I hold her. It’s what I’m best at.

“Thank you, Scorpia,” Catra says, her voice muffled where it was pressed against my chest.

“No biggie, Wildcat,” I say.

She pulls away eventually, wiping away the tears from her face. She clutches the jacket to her chest and looks around the room as though a little disoriented. “This is all just Adora’s room?”

“I know! Crazy right? And I thought Force Captain barracks were spacey.”

Catra’s eyes linger on the single shelf next to Adora’s bed. On it is a paltry collection of trinkets and carving. A wooden, winged horse. A little figurine of She-Ra. Each toppled on their sides and covered in dust.

When she speaks, her voice is distant and pensive. “I don’t really like it here.”

“Well…” I put my pincers on my hips and think. “We can get the vines cleared away and it’ll look better. I actually had them make me a bed like Adora’s because the beds here are too squishy and I popped like five of them.”

She casts a sideways smirk at me. “That’s not what I meant.” The smile fades from her face so quickly. She wanders further into the room toward the open balcony. The sunlight streaming in shines off the gold filigree on the jacket in her arms. “No... I mean that I tried so hard to fight my way in here and suddenly I’m inside. Just like that.”

“Ooooh, that  _ is _ weird, isn’t it?” I follow her toward the balcony, glancing outside at the rolling hills of trees that were the Whispering Woods. “It took me forever to get used to it when I first got here. Everyone helped me, though. Especially Frosta. She’s just great.”

Catra rubs at her cheekbone. “When she isn’t punching things.”

I chuckle. “She’s a little firecracker isn’t she? Or is that ice cracker?”

“Scorpia, what…” She glances hesitantly at me out of the corner of her eye. “What was it like the first night you were here?”

“Kinda weird, I gotta admit.” I nod, recalling those first days of confusion. “But the sleepovers helped. And no one was yelling at me or telling me that I’m a failure or that I—”

“I really was that awful to you, wasn’t I?” Though she speaks the words quietly, they bring me to a fumbling halt.

I recover quickly and whap her on the back bracingly. “Pfft, you didn’t  _ mean _ it. It was just part of the job. Right?”

She clutches the jacket tighter to her chest. There’s a lingering silence as though she is having a conversation in her head before she starts it. “We were both chipped.”

“Yeah,” I scratch the back of my neck, trying to rub away the ghost of the chip from my skin, “but it was for just a little bit.”

Her eyes are trained on the floor in front of her, unfocused and wavering. “You know how Shadow Weaver and then Hordak all acted the same? Like they had power and they wanted you to know they had power?”

“Oh yeah, they weren’t subtle about it.”

“I wanted that,” she says. “I thought if I kept fighting I could get there. And… Scorpia. I’m so…” When she raises her eyes to me, they’re filled with tears once more. Her voice breaks. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, that’s all in the past now.” I set a consoling pincer gently on her shoulder. “It’s okay.”

She knocks my arm off and takes a step away. “No! It’s not! It’s not okay and I just…” She takes a deep breath, trying to collect herself. She still holds tight to the jacket. “Don’t be Scorpia for a bit, please? I need to tell you something.”

I’m befuddled but I nod and wait.

Melog curls around Catra’s legs and she releases one of her arms from around the jacket to reach down and pet them. “Horde Prime was just like Hordak and Shadow Weaver but somehow worse. When I was on the Velvet Glove with Glimmer, I saw how bad it gets. Prime just had a bunch of clones to push around and abuse. It made me realize that it was how everyone has treated me, and that I was trying to be like them. And I was doing it to you. When I managed to run  _ you _ off. I—”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” I step forward again to console her, but she backpedals away, shaking her head.

“Would you  _ stop _ ? It’s horrible and I didn’t know what I was doing and you were always there and  _ I’m so sorry. _ ” Her eyes clench shut around more tears. She sinks into a crouch, Melog wrapping around her protectively. They put their head on her shoulder, mewing softly while she shakes with sobs.

Tears rain from her cheeks and patter on the floor.

I hesitate, but I go to her and sit on the floor next to them. She’s so small—so much smaller than she appears and acts. But it makes it easy to wrap my arms around her and Melog and pull them close. Her head falls into the nest of my shoulder, her short hair brushing against my neck. I feel her shake with her sobs, but I hold onto her.

“Catra, it’s really okay,” I say, rubbing her shoulder with my arm. “We both kinda screwed things up and now we get to fix it.”

She hiccups slightly and pulls back enough to look at me in confusion. “Huh?”

“Just, Perfuma’s been great and she’s taught me a lot about being me. She’s got this thing that she showed me about sticking up for myself and I felt really guilty that I didn’t do that for you for a long time. I just wanted to make excuses ‘cause you were just doing what you thought was best. And she made a lot of sense that it was bad for the both of us. But that doesn’t mean I’m  _ mad _ about it. You’re  _ Catra _ .” I give her a pointed squeeze. “I knew you’d come around.”

She buries her head back into my shoulder but I feel one of her arms clench around me. “Thanks,” she says. “For not giving up on me.”

“Any time, Wildcat.”


End file.
